Beating of Chicago teen filmed, posted online

Six teenagers were being questioned by Chicago police Tuesday after a video was posted online showing the brutal beating of a 17-year-old

By Sophia Tareen
Associated Press

CHICAGO — Seven teenagers were arrested Wednesday in the beating and robbery of a 17-year-old Chicago high school student that was filmed and posted online, city police said.

One of the teens was charged as an adult and the rest — a 15-year-old girl, two 16-year-old boys and three 15-year-old boys — were cited in juvenile delinquency petitions. All were charged with one count each of robbery and aggravated battery, police spokesman Mike Sullivan said.

Throughout the more than 3-minute video, several attackers — many with sweat shirt hoods over their heads and some wearing masks — are seen repeatedly kicking, punching and yelling at the victim as he lay coiled on the snow-covered ground Sunday afternoon in an alley on the city's South Side.

The video went viral after it was posted on YouTube. Sullivan said that helped to identify the alleged attackers.

One of the teens took the video, and others who posted comments identified the attackers by name, including 17-year-old Raymond Palomino, who was expected in bond court Wednesday morning. Palomino's face was visible in the video.

Police said the attackers stole shoes, a wallet and $180 in cash from the victim, who was treated at a local hospital for a laceration to his lip, bruises and abrasions.

The videotaped attack on a teen in Chicago isn't the first to go viral. In 2009, footage of the fatal beating of a 16-year-old honor student was circulated worldwide, providing an example of escalating violence that claimed the lives of more than 20 Chicago public school students in a six-month period.

In that video captured by a cellphone camera, Derrion Albert is seen being punched and hit over his head with large boards and kicked in the head. The fight broke out after classes were dismissed at a high school on Chicago's South Side.

Four teens were sentenced to lengthy prison sentences last year in the case that sparked outrage around the country. A fifth suspect tried as a juvenile was ordered to remain imprisoned until he turns 21.

Albert's death prompted President Barack Obama to send U.S. Attorney Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to the city to discuss ways to end the violence.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press

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